Page 6 of The Alpha's Autumn Baby Mama (Triple L Ranch Shifters 4)

No. I was sticking with badass because what they had could not be faked. My wolf would have caught it for sure. A person might be faked out, but the animals never. But badass or not…they needed to get moving so I could as well. I hadn’t come prepared to linger endlessly in the forest.

Thezzzof a tent opening preceded a dark head poking out. Scruff covered his jaw, and I wished I could see his eye color but we were just too far away. He faced my direction, and I stayed very still, hoping he wouldn’t notice me. There was no reason, really, for me to hide. They wouldn’t know I’d been there most of the night anyway. I was just one more traveler along the trail, and a wave and smile would be a normal response from a normal person.

The only reason to not be seen would be if they were a threat, and they weren’t. My wolf knew how to protect me, and especially while wearing my fur, if they saw me standing here, by the time they shifted to follow—they were wolves, certainly—I’d have a big head start. My wolf was like the wind, and nobody in my former pack had been able to run faster, male or female.

But, unlike the man peeking out of the tent, I was still in shadow, where I stood, and he didn’t seem to notice me. Instead, he turned and looked behind him, speaking to his lover in a voice that, while I couldn’t hear the words, carried a tone that made me shiver in my fur.

Love like that was rare. At least where I came from.

Then he pushed out through the doorway and stood in the early sunshine. His hair was even darker than I’d first thought, nearly that comic-book hero blue-black, his skin tanned like someone who worked outside all year round. He wore a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans that fit him like a second skin, and once again, I had to remind myself that he had a mate already and my interest was just because I hadn’t seen a hot guy or any guy of my generation in a while.

Yes, he was hot.

And yes, he was taken.

And if I didn’t stop with these unworthy thoughts like wishing he’d come out undressed so I could admire even more of him, I was going to have to slap myself in the head. I really needed to get a life.

But wasn’t that what this journey was all about?

Shifting deeper into the shadows as the sun lit more of the lake valley, I watched the other man emerge into the light. He was dark haired as well, but had less scruff and as soon as he stood up straight, he flung himself into his lover’s arms and they kissed. A heart-melting kiss that said so much more than words could. I was happy just to see the two of them.

But I was not sad to see them begin to strike their camp because I was anxious to get moving. I was “burning daylight” as my father used to say, and the fewer nights I spent out in the cold, the better. Sure, I could be a fierce wolf, but there were lots of other animals in the forest up here. Bears, mountain lions, coyotes who hunted together…and I was spending a lot of time in human form in order to carry my gear. It wasn’t much, but it was all I’d salvaged from my old life, and valuable to me for sentiment as well as practicality.

And while I’d had lots of experience in the wilds around my former home, I had none here, and it was much higher and wilder. Antsy, I fought my need to move, not wanting to capture the attention of the men who were folding their tent and stuffing it into one of their packs. They had much larger packs than me, and I marveled that they were able to carry them at all because when they shouldered them, they appeared quite heavy.

They hadn’t made anything to eat or drink, so they were probably also in a hurry to go wherever they intended. A good thing.

As soon as they disappeared up the hillside toward the trails, I shifted and dressed. If my information was correct, I had one more night before I’d arrive at the Triple L. Weather cooperating.

Chapter Seven

Levi

We rushed out of our campsite as if a wildebeest was on our heels, without even making anything to eat. I think we were both overwhelmed by the events of the previous night. It was good to know we’d both been interested in each other for a long time, but I was troubled by the fact that I had no idea why it had had happened the way it did.

The sleep-shifting…how? I struggled to find a memory of anyone mentioning something like that happening but could not. Not that I regretted it. No, of course not. I’d have spoken up long ago if I’d suspected he shared my feelings. But I sort of felt as if we were pushed into the moment where we had to say what we thought.

It had been quite dramatic. One moment, we were friends, sleeping as wolves, and the next…well, the next moment, we were having sex. And not just that. The mark on my shoulder where he’d bitten me stung still. He’d really gone deep, but that was all right. I was proud for anyone to see that I had a mate like Owen. That he’d allowed me to mark him as well.

We were mates, something which my years’ long crush on Owen had not revealed. Yet another piece of the puzzle. Left to our own devices, we’d been well on the way to avoiding ruining our friendship for the rest of our lives. Never stepping into a mating that already brought me more joy and passion than I could ever recall experiencing. Had our wolves had something to do with it?

“Levi?” Owen stopped. “Do you hear something?”

I cocked my head, listening. “The wind, some birds…anything specific you’re picking up?”

“I thought I heard footsteps, breathing.” He shrugged. “Must just be me. After last night, I feel different. Think that’s what mating does?”

“Maybe. That could be part of it, but I feel like there’s something going on that I don’t understand. We both had feelings for each other but never said a word.”

“True.” He looked around. “I could have sworn I heard someone. But I don’t now. Anyway, it’s a public trail. And sound really carries here. So, anyway, we didn’t tell each other how we felt, and then we woke up in what I can only describe as a compromising position.”

“That’s one way to put it.” We’d begun to walk again, and our footfalls on the leaf-strewn path were noisy enough that I felt confident anyone within ten miles could hear us. So if Owen had heard someone, it made sense. The trails were hardly crowded, but the High Sierras were never completely without hikers. Some people were actually out here because they liked camping in the cold.

We could have driven at least part of the way, but there were no paved roads directly into Triple L Ranch.

“You sure you don’t regret what happened?” I couldn’t let the subject go. But then mating was the most significant event in most shifters’ lives, so of course it was on my mind.

He grabbed my arm and spun me around toward him then kissed me until my doubts about how he might feel were lost, and all I wanted to do was what we’d done all night. But we were on our way to the ranch, and we were expected, so we behaved like the adults we were and continued on our way. The beauty of the mountains, the clear air, catching sight of distant lakes and peaks, and all that being here entailed lifted my spirits even higher than they already were.

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